Qing dynasty

Great Qing
1644[1]–1912
Flag (1889–1912)
Imperial seal:
The Qing dynasty at its greatest extent in 1760, with modern borders shown for the rest of the world. Territory claimed but not controlled is shown in light green.
Capital and largest city	Beijing
Official languages	Manchu[2] Mandarin Chinese[3]
Ethnic groups	Han Hmong Manchus Mongols Tibetans Uyghurs others
Religion	Confucianism Buddhism Taoism Chinese folk religion Shamanism Christianity Islam others
Demonym(s)	Chinese
Government	Absolute monarchy
Emperor
• 1636–1643 (proclaimed in Shenyang)	Chongde Emperor
• 1644–1661 (first in Beijing)	Shunzhi Emperor
• 1908–1912 (last)	Xuantong Emperor
Regent
• 1643–1650	Dorgon, Prince Rui
• 1908–1911	Zaifeng, Prince Chun
Prime Minister
• 1911	Yikuang, Prince Qing
• 1911–1912	Yuan Shikai
Legislature	Deliberative Council (1636–1733) Advisory Council (1910–1912)
Historical era	Late modern
• Proclaimed	1636
• Transition from Ming to Qing	1644–1662
• Dzungar–Qing Wars	1687–1758
• Ten Great Campaigns	1747–1792
• First Opium War	1839–1842
• Taiping Rebellion	1850–1864
• Second Opium War	1856–1860
• Self-Strengthening Movement	1861–1895
• First Sino-Japanese War	1894–1895
• Hundred Days' Reform	1898
• Boxer Rebellion	1900–1901
• Late Qing reforms	1901–1911
• Xinhai Revolution	1911–1912
• End of monarchy	12 February 1912
Area
1700[4]	8,800,000 km2 (3,400,000 sq mi)
1790[4]	14,700,000 km2 (5,700,000 sq mi)
1860[4]	13,400,000 km2 (5,200,000 sq mi)
1908[5]	11,350,000 km2 (4,380,000 sq mi)
Population
• 1907 estimate	426,000,000[6]
Currency	Cash Tael Paper money
Preceded by Succeeded by Later Jin Ming dynasty Dzungar Khanate Kingdom of Tungning Republic of China Bogd Khanate Uryankhay Republic Tibet

This article contains Manchu text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Manchu alphabet.

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The Qing dynasty (/tʃɪŋ/ CHING), officially the Great Qing,^[a] was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history. The dynasty, proclaimed in Shenyang in 1636, seized control of Beijing in 1644, which is considered the start of the dynasty's rule.^[1] The dynasty lasted until 1912, when it was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution. In Chinese historiography, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the Ming dynasty and succeeded by the Republic of China. The multi-ethnic Qing dynasty assembled the territorial base for modern China. It was the largest imperial dynasty in the history of China and in 1790 the fourth-largest empire in world history in terms of territorial size. With over 426 million citizens in 1907,^[6] it was the most populous country in the world at the time.

Nurhaci, leader of the House of Aisin-Gioro and vassal of the Ming dynasty,^[7][8] unified Jurchen clans (known later as Manchus) and founded the Later Jin dynasty in 1616, renouncing the Ming overlordship. His son Hong Taiji was declared Emperor of the Great Qing in 1636. As Ming control disintegrated, peasant rebels captured the Ming capital Beijing, but the Ming general Wu Sangui opened the Shanhai Pass to the Qing army, which defeated the rebels, seized the capital, and took over the government in 1644 under the Shunzhi Emperor and his prince regent. Resistance from Ming rump regimes and the Revolt of the Three Feudatories delayed the complete conquest until 1683. As a Manchu emperor, the Kangxi Emperor (1661–1722) consolidated control, relished the role of a Confucian ruler, patronised Buddhism (including Tibetan Buddhism), encouraged scholarship, population and economic growth. Han officials worked under or in parallel with Manchu officials. To maintain prominence over its neighbors, the Qing leveraged and adapted the tributary system employed by previous dynasties, enabling their continued predominance in affairs with countries on its periphery like Joseon Korea and the Lê dynasty in Vietnam, while extending its control over Inner Asia including Tibet, Mongolia, and Xinjiang.

The High Qing era reached its apex during the reign of the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796), who led Ten Great Campaigns of conquest, and personally supervised Confucian cultural projects. After his death, the dynasty faced internal revolts, economic disruption, official corruption, foreign intrusion, and the reluctance of Confucian elites to change their mindset. With peace and prosperity, the population rose to 400 million, but taxes and government revenues were fixed at a low rate, soon leading to a fiscal crisis. Following China's defeat in the Opium Wars, Western colonial powers forced the Qing government to sign unequal treaties, granting them trading privileges, extraterritoriality and treaty ports under their control. The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) and the Dungan Revolt (1862–1877) in western China led to the deaths of over 20 million people, from famine, disease, and war. The Tongzhi Restoration in the 1860s brought vigorous reforms and the introduction of foreign military technology in the Self-Strengthening Movement. Defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895 led to loss of suzerainty over Korea and cession of Taiwan to the Empire of Japan. The ambitious Hundred Days' Reform in 1898 proposed fundamental change, but was poorly executed and terminated by the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908) in the Wuxu Coup.

In 1900, anti-foreign Boxers killed many Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries; in retaliation, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China and imposed a punitive indemnity. In response, the government initiated unprecedented fiscal and administrative reforms, including elections, a new legal code, and the abolition of the imperial examination system. Sun Yat-sen and revolutionaries debated reform officials and constitutional monarchists such as Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao over how to transform the Manchu-ruled empire into a modernised Han state. After the deaths of the Guangxu Emperor and Cixi in 1908, Manchu conservatives at court blocked reforms and alienated reformers and local elites alike. The Wuchang Uprising on 10 October 1911 led to the Xinhai Revolution. The abdication of the Xuantong Emperor on 12 February 1912 brought the dynasty to an end. In 1917, it was briefly restored in an episode known as the Manchu Restoration, but this was neither recognized by the Beiyang government (1912–1928) of the Republic of China nor the international community.

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